Arch support



Filed 001;. 51, 1935 Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES ARCH SUPPORT Everett H. Scott, Akron, Ohio, assigner of onehalf to Thomas J. Seibert, Akron, Ohio Application October 31, 1935, Serial No. 47,566

v14 claims.

This invention relates to improvements in arch supports of the type constituting devices separate from and adapted to be worn within shoes of ordinary construction.

Persons suifering from fallen arches or flat feet frequently cannot endure having the arch of the foot instantly raised to and maintained in its normal position. Consequently, the com-` paratively rigid or non-yielding arch supports which have little resiliency cause much pain and discomfort to the user. Resilient support as heretofore proposed Will sometimes injure the shoe. A device Whose resiliency can be adjusted is desirable. Where the support is an arched plate fixed at both ends to a bottom plate arranged as an inextensible chord on the arch, with one end adjustable, while the height of the arch can be varied to suit the particular case, such supports are also comparatively stiff and uncomfortable because the base length or spread of the arch is not automatically varied by a changing application of the users weight.

The primary object of my invention is to overcome the above-mentioned objectionable features of prior arch supports by providing a support which is highly resilient and more comfortable to the user, and one which is durable and will not injure the shoe in` which it is worn. Further objects are to provide improved means of varying the resiliency of the arch support to adapt it for wearers of different weight or various degrees of arch height, or for adjusting it to feet with the arch fallen on one side or the other; to facilitate setting the adjustment when required, and to simplify the structure and reduce its cost of manufacture.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior application Serial No. 19,739, filed May 3, 1935.

Of the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an arch support embodying my invention in a preferred iorm,pillustrated in operative position within a shoe indicated by broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the arch support on a larger scale, partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view showing a modication.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring at rst to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, IIJ indicates the arch support as a whole, including a thin, highly flexible, upper strip-like body having a heel portion II, an arched instep portion I2 extending forward to and including a portion of the ball of the foot, and a horizontal outline adapted to t snugly within the corresponding portion of an ordinary shoe I3 indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1.

The arched upper body of the support in this instance comprises two layers or laminations, namely an upper flexible member or cover layer I4 of a relatively soft, wear-resistant material Such as leather, whose edges dene the outline of the support, and an underlying exible metallic layer or member I5 of smaller area, which may be a thin plate of spring steel, secured to the leather cover by a pair of longitudinally spaced rivets I6. The length of the metal plate I5 is such as to underlie the instep bottom or arch of the foot, and its outline substantially follows that of the cover layer.

A stretchable spring member I'I, underlying the metal plate I5, has its two ends detachably connected with the end portions of said plate, beyond the respective rivets I6, and is arranged as a chord on the arch of the plate I5, its normal or unstressed length being Shorter than the distance between its end connections with the plate, so that the spring member is under tension and makes a resilient structure with the plate. 'The member I'I is preferably made of spring wire and of flat, sinuous or serpentine form, although other substantially flat forms could be used.

The end connections between the plate I5 and spring member I'I may be made in various ways, preferably in the manner shown, as by forming a long horizontal hook I8 on the rear end of the spring, engaged with a loop I9 which is struck down from the metal of the plate, this end being non-adjustable; and at the front end by forming an upwardly-directed short hook 20 on the front end of the spring, selectively engaged in any one of a series of holes 2| formed in the plate I5. To avoid substantial protrusion of the end of hook 20 above the surface of the plate, the metal of the latter is drawn down in an annular ilange 22 surrounding each of the holes. In place of these flanged apertures, broadly equivalent connecting members could be used, as by repeating the rearend horizontal hook and plate loop formation at a number of points on the front end, or employing struck-,down hook tongues as will be described in the modification, Figs. 4 and 5. The illustrated combination of rear and front connections has the advantage of maximum strength, simplicity, ease of connection at both ends and security at the rear end when the front-end connection is being changed.

The holes 2I are serially distributed laterally and longitudinally of the plate I5 in an arc which is convex toward the spring I l, for the double purpose of varying the spring tension by advancing the hooked forward end of the spring more or less toward the front end of the plate, and angularly placing the spring toward one side or the other or in the middle, in various relations to the plate, for the correction of foot arches which are correspondingly flattened in different ways. It will be obvious that the number and disposition of the holes could be varied from the particular arrangement shown in Fig. 2, to perform one or the other or both of these functions.

Adjustability of the spring at its front, rather than its rear end is preferred because its abovementioned angular shifting on a rear pivot affords a wider range of forward support for different conditions of thel foot arch, and an undue thickness at the heel end is avoided.k The location of the rivets I6 between the front and rear connections of the spring ends avoids contact of their lower heads with the supporting surface.

23 is a bottom plate of a relatively hard and tough non-metallic material such as vulcanized fiber, having its rear endpivotally fixed to the rear end of the metal plate AI5 by a rivet 24, and underlying the spring I'I. The front end of plate I5 has a sliding bearing on the upper side of this bottom plate to permit the arch of said plate to spread or contract without substantial obstruction and without injuring the shoe. Said bottom platecan be swung aside to permit access to the spring for its application, adjustment or removal.

In operation, the article is worn as indicated in Fig. 1, and then affords a comfortable resilient support for the foot arch, either in standing or Walking, by reason of theI fact that the base of the arch in the support can spread or contract according to the varying portion of the wearers weight applied thereto, the front end of the upper body I4, Ai 5 sliding upon the supporting surface. Were this surface only that of the comparatively soft insole of the shoe, the sliding forward movement of the front end of the metal plate I 5 would be obstructed and the insole would be injured by scuing, but the vulcanized fiber bottom plate 23 presents a hard Wearing surface readily permitting this sliding action without substantial obstruction, or injury to the shoe. To adjust the tension of spring II to the wearers weight or to the different degrees of foot correction required, it is only necessary to swing aside the bottom plate 23 and place the hooked ends 20 of said spring in a different one of the holes 2|, either in the middle or on one side or the other as conditions may demand.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the metal plate I5 of the arched upper body is of smaller area and is attached by rivets, I6 between upper and lower layers I4, 25 of leather or equivalent material included in said upper body. An underlying serpentine wire spring Il, arranged as a chord' on the arch, is fixedly secured at its front end to the leather layers byanother rivet Iia, and at its rear end is detachably and adjustably connected with the plate I5 by a hook 26 on the spring, engaging any one of a longitudinal series of hook tongues 21 struck down from the metal of the plate and projecting through an aperture 28 formed in the lower layer 25. In this embodiment, the bottom plate of Figs. 1 to 3 is omitted, subject to greater liability of the suption of the arch by the varying weight of the user applied thereto, and Xed on the other end of said bottom plate, and an intervening, extensible spring member connected at its ends to the upper body and arranged as a chord thereon.

2. An arch support according to claim 1 in which the spring member is detachably and adjustably connectible at one end with the upper body at a plurality of points on the latter, and

the bottom plate is pivoted at its fixed end to the upper body and adapted to be swung aside to afford access to the adjustable connection.

3. An arch support according to claim 1 in which the upper body includes a spring metal plate and the bottom plate is flexible and of a relatively-hard, non-metallic material such as vulcanized fiber.

4. An arch support comprising a flexible arched body automatically slidable at its front end on A a supporting surface and normally free to spread or allow contraction of the arch by the Varying weight of the user applied thereto, and an underlying extensible spring member arranged as a chord on said body, having a fixed attachment thereto at one of its ends and adjustably connectible at its other end to the body at a number of different keeper points on the latter.

5. An arch support according to claim 4 in which the points of connection of the spring member at its adjustable end are longitudinally distributed on the body to vary the tension of said member.

6. An arch support according to claim 4 in which the points of connection of the spring member at its adjustable end are laterally distributed on the body to vary the angular relation between said member and body.

7. An arch support according to claim 4 in which the body has a series of points of connection with the spring member, laterally arranged on the body in an arc which is convex toward. said member to vary the latters tension and its angular relation to the body.

8. An arch support comprising a flexible arched plate formed near one end with a series of keeper holes and automatically slidable at its front end on a supporting surface to spread or allow contraction of the arch by the varying weight of the user applied thereto, and a Wire spring member arranged as a chord on said plate, having one end connected with the plate and its other end upwardly bent as a hook to selectively engage in said holes.

9. An arch support according to claim 3 in which the plate is annularly flanged downwardly around each of the holes to prevent substantial protrusion of the hooked end of the spring member above the upper surface of the plate.

l0. An arch support comprising a thin, highlyflexible, strip-like body having heel and arch portions and formed of at least two layers of material securely fastened together, means including an elastic member arranged longitudinally of and at the under side of said body for adjustably upwardly arching and varying the resiliency of the intermediate portion of said body, said means further embodying devices for selectively connecting one end of said elastic member to said 5 body at diierent distances from the corresponding end of the body so that the tension of said elastic member is varied, and a further layer of material disposed beneath said elastic member to prevent said elastic member from coming in contact with the bottom of the shoe in which said arch support is worn, said further layer of material being pivotally attached at one end to said body to permit ready access to and adjustment of said elastic member.

11. An arch support comprising a flexible arched upper body slidable at its front end on a supporting surface, an underlying tension spring iixed at its rear end to said body, and adjustable fastening means at the front end of said spring 20 making it selectively connectible at its iront end to the body at a number of different points on the latter.

12. An arch support according to claim 11 in which the front-end connecting points are lat- 25 erally distributed to vary the angular relation between the body and spring.

13. An arch support comprising a exible arched upper body composed of two layers of non-metallic material of which the lower one is 30 formed wthan opening, an interposed metal plate formed with a series of spring-connecting devices exposed through said opening, and an underlying tension spring having one end connected with said upper body and its other end formed with a hook selectively connectible with said devices.

14. An arch support comprising a thin, highly flexible, strip-like body having heel and arch portions and formed of two layers of material secured together, the lower layer having an opening in the heel portion thereof, a metallic plate secured between said layers and having downwardly extending keeper hooks exposed through said opening in the lower layer and arranged in a longitudinal series, and an elastic member arranged longitudinally of and at the under side of said body and attached at one end to the corresponding portion of said body, said elastic member having means at its other end for selectively connecting said other end to a desired one of said keeper hooks whereby the tension of said elastic member may be varied and a desired upward arching of the arch portion of the body effected, with a corresponding regulation of the resiliency of said arch portion, said elastic member comprising a spring formed of a piece of spring wire with serpentine bends and having one end formed into a hook for engagement with said keeper hooks.

EVERETT I-I. SCOTT. 

